FROM NOTCHES TO ALPHABET: TRACING THE EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF SCRIPTS FROM ANCIENT TO MODERN WORLD

Saini Barkha; Dr. Gurcharan Singh; Neetu Negi

doi:10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i2.2024.723

Authors

Saini Barkha Research Scholar, Department of Fine Arts, Kurukshetra University, India https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1561-3734
Dr. Gurcharan Singh Associate Professor, Department of Fine Arts, Kurukshetra University, India
Neetu Negi Research Scholar, Department of Fine Arts, Kurukshetra University, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i2.2024.723

Keywords:

Scripts, Knot Records, Tallies, Pictographs, Graphic Symbols, Phonetization, Alphabet, Modern Scripts

Abstract [English]

Human association that is societies necessitate communication and language is the elemental means of human communication. In primitive times, communication was generally done through oral means restricted by space and time. Writing surpassed these limitations, allowing man to raise civilization. Writing began at first in the form of noticeable signs or pictures understandable to men. And now it has emerged in various ways: in science it is a scholarly tool, in literature it is a cultural channel and in art it is a form in itself. This preliminary investigation of history of writing is intended to provide background knowledge on the evolution of text as an art element. The present research aspires to investigate the evolution and advancement of scripts from ancient times to the emergence of alphabets. It provides the genesis, forms, objectives and sequential changes of the world’s major scripts. In the first section, what constitutes ‘complete writing’ has been defined with the assistance of scholarly theories. A brief insight of pictography and logography as prewriting has also been observed. Further in the second section the advancements in pictorial writing to phonetic writing is outlined. The third section traces the stories of Indian scripts and their development over the centuries. The study is based on qualitative research method acquiring data from museums, secondary sources and documentations. The research thus is an attempt to explore the value and objectivity of text used as a visual communication element. Eventually the study provides visualization of scripts in the form of notches, tallies, pictographs, graphic symbols and complete alphabets.

References

Bahn, P. G., & Vertut, J. (1988). Images of the Ice. Age. Leicester: Windward.

Bernal, J. D. (1971). Science in History, Volume 4: The Social Sciences: A Conclusion. MIT Press Books, 1.

Birket-Smith, K. (1967). The Circumpacific Distribution of Knot Records.

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2007, February 21). Mayan Hieroglyphic Writing. Encyclopedia Britannica.

Bühler, G. (2023). On the Origin of the Indian Brahma Alphabet. (n.p.): Creative Media Partners, LLC.

Claiborne, R. (1974). The Birth of Writing.

Clayton, E. (2019). The Evolution of the Alphabet. The British Library Website.

Coulmas, F. (2003). Writing Systems: An Introduction to their Linguistic Analysis. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139164597 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139164597

Evolution of Script in India. Journals of India. (2018).

Fisher, S. R. (2001). A History of Writing. Reaktion Books.

Hood, M. S. F. (1968). The Tartaria Tablets. Scientific American, 218(5), 30-37. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0568-30 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0568-30

Islamic Heritage of India. (1981). National Museum, Delhi.

Jensen, H. (1969). Sign, Symbol, and Script: An Account of Man's Efforts to Write. Putnam.

Kalyanaraman, S. (2010). Indus Script Cipher: Hieroglyphs of Indian Linguistic Area. India: Sarasvati Research Centre.

Martin, H. J. (1994). The History and Power of Writing. University of Chicago Press.

Parpola, A. H. S. (1994). Deciphering the Indus Script. Cambridge University Press.

Powell, B. B. (1996). Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet. Cambridge University Press.

Prem, H. J., & Riese, B. (1983). Autochthonous American Writing Systems: The Aztec and Maya Examples. Writing in Focus, 167-186. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110822830.167 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110822830.167

Rahman, K. (n.d.). Evolution of Scripts in Arabic Calligraphy. National Museum, Delhi.

Rajgor, D. (2000). Palaeolinguistic Profile of Brāhmī Script. India: Pratibha Prakashan.

Ray, J. D. (1986). The Emergence of Writing in Egypt. World Archaeology, 17(3), 307-316. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.1986.9979972 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.1986.9979972

Ritner, R. K. (1996). Egyptian Writing. Daniels & Bright (eds.), 73-87.

Schmandt-Besserat, D. (1981). From Tokens to Tablets: A Re-evaluation of the So-Called" Numerical Tablets". Visible Language, 15(4), 321-344.

Winn, S. M., Markotic, V., & Hromadiuk, B. (1981). Pre-Writing in Southeastern Europe: The Sign System of the Vinca Culture, ca. 4000 BC. Calgary: Western Publishers.